English 101

Required Materials

Writing 50 Course Reader (CR), at AS Notes
Research Papers Workbook, Arkin and Macheski, at bookstore
From time to time you may be asked to provide outside writing sources to share with class

Recommended Materials

Collegiate Level Dictionary such as The American Heritage College Dictionary

Course Requirements and Assignments

Requirements

Do all the assigned reading PRIOR to the class in which it is assigned and bring reader to class.
Write all home and in-class assignments and participate in class discussions, peer review sessions, and final conference presentations
Attend library sessions and participate in class activities

Conferences

There will be two mandatory individual conferences in my office, Girvetz 1310. The first will be in the beginning of the quarter to answer any questions you might have about the course, policies, assignments—anything—and for me to review any ideas, concerns, etc with you. The final conference will be at the end of the quarter to review your work, points and so forth. Of course you are also welcome to come by during office hours any time.

Note 1: In order to pass the course, you must complete and receive passing grades on all assignments

Note 2: There will be no final exam

Assignments (100%): Deadlines

Research Proposal 10% 2pp during conference Annotated Bibliography 10% 5/1

Peer Review 5/15

Paper draft 10% 5-7pp 5/17

Journal Writing (10x1%) 10%

Conference Presentation 10%

Final Project 40% 15pp 6/7

Attendance and Participation 10%

(includes peer reviews, and degree and quality of participation in class discussions)

*Important note on class participation grade: each day you start with a B-. You can easily and painlessly raise that grade to an A by volunteering opinions and insights one or several times per class session - nothing excessive; just throw in your “two cents” occasionally. If you say nothing but appear reasonably interested during the session, your grade will remain a B-. If you say nothing and appear unreasonably disinterested during the session (e.g. head on desk, snoring out loud, chatting with neighbors while other folks are talking, talking on celly, reading and highlighting physics notes, listening to iPod, etc.), your grade drops to C or lower. At the end of each class session, I record your participation grade for that day in my spreadsheet, and I average out those grades at the end of the quarter.

JOURNAL WRITING

Each student will prepare 10 one-page journal entries. Most of the entries will be responses to your research process, and they are designed to help you with your research and writing process. In “progress reports,” you are invited to help you with your research project, useful sources for your work, or ways to integrate outside sources. In particular, I am interested in your awareness and analysis of possible difficulties you may encounter with narrowing down/defining/focusing your topic or presenting counter arguments or writing introductions/conclusions, as well as your expectations to deal with these challenges. Also, feel free to share your responses to the project (excitement, difficulties, fears, frustrations) and discuss creative/challenging/innovative ways of combining ideas and arguments. It is important that you submit journal entries on dates due and take these exercises seriously as they are helpful steps in your research process.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL (Due Conference 1 10%)

On two pages, you will introduce the reader to the topic you intend to explore and the argument or point you want to make in your final paper. You should state clearly the direction in which you want to take your project (even though it may change in the process), the sources you intend to use, and the writing strategies you intend to use (organization, division/subdivision, order of your argument).

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY (Due 5/1 10%)

After our visit to the library, you will compile a list of at least 10 sources about your topic. An entry for each source will be 1-2 paragraphs long, and it will contain the following information:

Bibliographic information of the sources

A brief summary of the contents and the main argument of the source

A short commentary on the relevance and potential use of the source

The assignment will follow the MLA format, and it should include a variety of sources (books, journal articles, newspaper articles, chapters in anthologies, internet sources (maximum 3), government publications, personal interviews).

PAPER DRAFT (Due 5/17 5-7 pp, 10%)

The draft of your paper will give an insight both to you and me about the direction in which your paper is going. “Draft” in this case means the best you can produce at that point so that we can discuss and improve the strength and quality of your argument and your writing style. Please include a “Works Cited” list at the end of your draft.

INDIVIDUAL PRESENTATIONS (10%)

In the last three weeks, we will hold panels about the nature, status, and various manifestations of healthcare in the world in which we live. Each student will introduce her or his work in an exciting ten-minute presentation. We will group student presentations thematically into several panels, and at the end of each panel we will have a question-and-answer period followed by a discussion. Oral presentations are designed to help students summarize their argument, see the significance of their research, and its relatedness to their colleagues’ work in various other disciplines. Overall, the conference will be a tremendous learning opportunity for all participants, which will allow us to investigate and reflect on the nature of healthcare.

FINAL PAPER (Due 6/5 15 PP, 40%)

The final paper will show the mastery of your research skills, convincing argumentation, excellent writing skills, and effective presentation techniques. From our class discussions and your reading interests, you will choose a topic, which you will define and narrow down, justify as significant and relevant, and present in an engaged, informed, and highly knowledgeable manner. In order to establish yourself as an authority on the subject, you will need to conduct extensive research, learn about various, often opposing, approaches to the issue, form your opinion, and be prepared to defend your position of arts and humanities, social sciences, or sciences.

A successful paper will find an appropriate and effective rhetorical mode for the topic discussed.
All papers should be word-processed, double-spaced, submitted in 12 point form and MLA formatted.
Assignments will be submitted at the beginning of class. No late work will be accepted without prior written approval from me.

GRADING

Assignments are graded in three different categories:

Global level (content, organization, development of your argument)

Local level (paragraphing, style, references)

Surface level (grammar, punctuation, vocabulary)

PEER REVIEW (5/15)

Prior to submission of the final paper, we will have a peer review. Come prepared to read critically your classmates’ materials. Each student will review TWO rough drafts of major assignments and write peer reports. Peer reports count toward the participation grade. The absence of such reports will reflect in your overall grade.

ADDITIONAL HELP

Service (CLAS): 893-3269. CLAS helps students increase their mastery of course material through course-specific tutoring and academic skills development. Visit www.clas.ucsb.edu for more information or visit their office, Building 477, 9-5 daily. Make sure you ask for the blue ship as a confirmation of your appointment with CLAS.

LATE PAPER POLICY

No late work will be accepted without prior written approval from me. If you have a conflict, alert me immediately.

Students with Disabilities

Disabled Students Program (DSP) provides a wide array of academic support services to eligible students with documented disabilities. These services include note takers, readers, sign language interpreters, facilitation of access, and adaptive computing equipment. If you have a disability and would like to discuss accommodations, please contact them (893-2668) directly and/or me as soon as possible.

ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION

ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY. Attendance and participation are crucial to successful classroom experience. You are expected to come to class having read the assigned texts and any related material. Always be prepared to write about the day’s reading. We will begin class from time to time with a short “quick-write” associated with the unit we are working on; these will not be announced. Excessive absenteeism (more than 2) will seriously affect your grade. I do not differentiate from excused and unexcused absences so save them for when you need them. Tardies and early exits also count in this; a total of three tardies/early exits will equal one absence.

Plagiarism

Don’t do it! You are responsible for the content and integrity of all of your work in this class. Cheating and plagiarism will, at a minimum, result in an F for the project and may result in failing this course or expulsion from the University. Plagiarism is defined as the act of using the ideas of work of another person or persons as if they were one’s own, without giving proper credit to the sources. This includes, but is not limited to, failure to use quotation marks when quoting from outside source, submitting a paper written by a friend or purchased from a term paper service, or retyping another student’s paper and submitting it as one’s own.

Tentative Course Outline

Week 1

T 4/3 Introductions

Review of syllabus

Course Overview

R 4/5 Viewing: Frankenstein

Read for Tues: Workbook Ch 1, Ch 3 74-83

Readings: CR Performers

Week 2

T 4/10 Discussion: Performers

The nature of Research: Finding and Narrowing a Topic

Journal Entry #1: In Class Assignment: Personal response to Movie/tv show

Read: Politicians

R 4/12 Discussion: Politicians

Writing an annotated bibliography

Read for Tues: Workbook Ch 3 95-100, Ch 4

Journal Entry #2: Brainstorm list of research topics related to healthcare (5-10)

Week 3 Conferences this week; Proposals due at conference, 2 pages, 10%

T 4/17 Library visit, room 1575, Sylvia Curtis: Finding sources

Read for TUES 4/24: Workbook Ch 5 142-165, Reader Practitioners

R 4/19 No Class—use time for library research

Week 4

T 4/24 Discussion: Practitioners

Journal Entry #3: List of Narrowed Research Topics (2-3), followed by a paragraph for each topic, indicating possible arguments and counter-arguments Evaluating Sources

Journal Entry #4: In class assignment—response to reading

Read for Thurs Workbook Ch 3 83-96, Ch 5 131-142

R 4/26 Formulating a research question

Reading: Workbook, Ch 6

Journal Entry #5: Commentary on your library search

Week 5

T 5/1 Organizing and outlining

Journal Entry #6: Focused Topic on Statement of Purpose

Annotated Bibliography due (10+ sources; 10%)

R 5/3 Viewing, Medical Mistakes

Read for Tues: Workbook Ch 7

Week 6 Conferences this week

T 5/8 Integrating quotations

Brief introductions to individual research projects (5 mins oral presentations)

Read for Thurs: Workbook Ch 8

R 5/10 MLA Format

Journal Entry #7: Imaginary dialogue between two of your sources

Read for Tues: Workbook Ch 10

Week 7

T 5/15 Preparing and Proofreading final draft

Peer review of paper draft (bring two copies in class)

Read for Thurs: CR: Casella

R 5/17 Preparing for Oral presentations

Paper Draft due (5-7 pp, 10%) include peer responses

Journal Entry #8: Commentary on the Paper Draft

Week 8

T 5/22 Presentations

R 5/24 Presentations

Week 9

T 5/29 Presentations

R 5/31 Presentations

Week 10

T 6/5 Presentations

Journal Entry #9: Commentary on Preparation for Conference Presentation

R 6/7 Presentations

Finals Papers due

Journal entry #10: Commentary and Self Evaluation on the Final Project